Don't Let Go
by katekarson
Summary: The Doctor returns to the TARDIS forlorn at having left Rose. But what would have happened if he had not been distracted by a bride in his time machine? Contains spoilers if you haven't seen the last episode of the latest series. Doctor10Rose


Doctor Who

Don't Let Go

By Kate Karson

Doctor #10 (David Tennant) reflects on leaving Rose behind in the parallel world. This is the alternative to the beginning of "The Runaway Bride". This is only a one-parter, but who knows? It might develop into more. I'll see what happens. And yes, I did steal from Moulin Rouge - you'll see.

If you want to get the full effect of the story, try listening to "Sleeping with the Light On" by Busted; I did when I wrote it. The lyrics make sense. Enjoy!

He closed his eyes, letting the sorrow wash over him. The tears flowed easily, although he didn't cry. How could he let himself? The Doctor was not someone who would ever allow grief to take over his life, or everything would come grinding to a halt.

Those eyes remained closed for a long time as the tears dried. For the moment, his mind was stuck on a single thought. He never got the chance to say what he had thought about her. He had tried - but the hole in the universe had closed before the words had left his lips.

He could see her now. She, too, would be crying, most likely in her mother's or Mickey's arms. He opened his eyes again in disgust. Mickey. Mickey was decent enough. His bravery had certainly improved, and so had his personality. But that didn't give him the right to make Rose fall in love with him again. Why should it?

For the first time, the Doctor felt the cold stab of jealousy, and it was driving him mad. "Mickey doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as Rose." he spat. Then he stopped himself, breathing heavily. "This is madness. It has to stop."

A few minutes passed. Then, finally, the Doctor spoke to himself again. "Rose Tyler never existed. She is a figment of my warped and contorted imagination." He repeated it over and over again, trying to drum it into his head.

He rubbed his forehead. His conscience was screaming at him. Do her the justice she deserves! "No, no, no!" He said aloud. "No! I can't leave her behind."

He stood up, flicking the controls of the TARDIS so fast it would seem they were changed at random. The police box-shaped time machine began to spin faster and faster as it orbited the supernova. "Power! More power!" he said, speaking to the TARDIS more than anything. He jabbed the television screen on and started tapping away at the keyboard, concentrating more on his own memory than the buttons he pressed. He scanned his knowledge for when he was back in his school days, chanting quantum theorem along with the others in class.

"Got it!" he shouted, ecstatic. "I've got it!" He quickly reached under the controls of the TARDIS to pull up a box full of discs and other alien memory technology. He closed his eyes, put the fingertips of one hand to his forehead and the other hand over the gargantuan box of information until his fingers paused over one disc and he pulled it out. "Damn!" what the information was stored on was a fragile WANE-874, a piece of technology from the Dractillian side of Jupiter. He spoke sternly to himself. "Alright. Now if you break this WANE, you will never see Rose Tyler again. Never. And she'll die in sixty-odd years' time, and you'll die in a couple of thousand years, and your last thought will be how you broke the stupid disc that you needed to see her. So be careful."

He gently laid the 874 on the drive, and breathed a sigh of relief when the information appeared on the screen. "Yes! This is exactly what I need!" Faster and faster, he typed on the keyboard, his face lit up at every new file opened.

He would see her again.

---

Rose had asked to be left alone at the beach. It had been many hours now, but still she sat on the worn-down rock near the sea. She could die here, right now, and she wouldn't have any regrets. There was nothing to live for anymore.

All of a sudden, there was a noise on the beach. She turned her head slightly, hardly caring whether some kids had come to give her trouble or not, but she could hardly believe her eyes when a blue light appeared floating in mid-air, and that familiar grinding noise reached her ears. She sat up in disbelief and began to run towards the materialising TARDIS.

It had just fully appeared when she arrived at the doors, and she wrenched them open to find the Doctor, grinning with his hands in his pockets. They didn't stay there long.

Wrapped in a hug tighter than ever before, Rose started crying again, and could have sworn she felt a tear reach her back as well. "I thought I would never see you again." she choked, and he rubbed his hands over her back.

"You have no idea." he half-laughed, half-cried. "I'm sorry I took so long."

"I don't care. You came back for me!" She released him from her embrace and looked over his face happily, mascara running and tears flowing.

"I'm glad you're pleased." he gave her a caring smile. "But we have to be serious now." She looked at him in horror, her face creasing up.

"You don't have to leave, do you? If you do, I'm coming with you. I don't care what you say."

"No, no." she relaxed. "I just needed to say it. Before, when we last said goodbye… when our contact was severed, it cut me up to know that I'd never told you." He brushed her hair from her face as it blew around wildly. "So I'll carry on where I left off. Rose Tyler, I can say with the greatest honesty that I love you too. More than you'll ever know."

"Doctor…" Rose said, in joyful tears, but she needn't have said any more.

He stepped closer to her and, closing his eyes, pressed his lips against hers shortly. "Next time… don't let go. Don't ever let go." he whispered, and kissed her again, the wind whipping up their hair and clothes as they stood there alone on the Norwegian beach.

Love it or hate it? I need to know! Please review! Thanks for reading!


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